(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and to a non-transitory computer readable medium.
(ii) Related Art
There is a system that converts a paper document to electronic data, and enables browsing of the data with a personal computer or the like. For example, electronic image data is generated by reading a paper document with a reading apparatus such as a scanner. By converting a paper document to electronic data as described here, a system with superior sharingness, portability, and retrievability is configured, thereby enhancing the convenience of users.
By the way, in the medical field, there are cases in which electronic data such as electronic medical records is used in order to enable sharing of information among distant facilities or related organizations (such as hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, visiting nurse stations, and nursing homes). In contrast, electronic medical records may not be adopted in relatively small hospitals or clinics. In addition, not all items of information are converted to electronic data even among medical institutions where electronic medical records are adopted, and meaningful information necessary for medical consultation may sometimes be exchanged in the form of paper documents. Further, there are needs for using paper records as they are. As described here, in the case where a paper document is used, sharing of information involves transmission of the paper document to a destination via facsimile or in the form of a duplicate copy, which is bothersome. Thus, the original paper document (such as a medical record) may be converted to electronic image data, and the electronic image data may be stored in a common server or the like, thereby enabling sharing of the information. Note that items of information other than medical records (such as test information, nursing records, care notes, and prescription information) may also be converted to electronic data, and the data may be stored in a common server or the like, thereby enabling sharing of the information.
In addition, a patient's consultation record is written on a medical record, and a test slip for a test such as a blood test, a urinalysis, or a biomedical test may be appended to the medical record. This is done to prevent the test slip from being lost or mixed into another place, and to enable the test slip to be browsed in accordance with chronological records on the medical record. For example, in the case where test slips are attached to a certain patient's paper records, if a person wants to compare a test result at a certain consultation time with a past test result, it is necessary for this person to find a past paper medical record and to browse the medical record for a comparison, which is bothersome.
In the case where paper medical records are converted to electronic image data, it is conceivable to alternately display multiple medical records to be compared on a display and to enable browsing of these medical records. In this case, it is necessary to alternately switch the images, which is similarly bothersome as with the case of paper medical records. In addition, it is conceivable to divide the screen of a display, arrange the images of a patient's multiple medical records in units of pages, and enable browsing of the images. In this case, it is necessary to secure the size of divided screens in order to enable the images of medical records to be displayed in units of pages. This restricts the number of divided screens and the number of medical records displayed side by side. As described here, the number of divided screens is restricted depending on the size of medical records. Even if a test slip attached to a medical record is relatively small, the number of test slips displayed side by side is restricted, thereby reducing the convenience in browsing the test results for a comparison. For example, since the images of medical records are displayed in units of pages, if the number of divided screens is restricted to two, only the images of two medical records are displayed side by side on the display. In this case, a test slip attached to each medical record is displayed on the display. Since only the two medical records are displayed, the number of test slips displayed side by side is also restricted to two. As described here, even though test slips are smaller than medical records, the number of test slips displayed side by side is restricted, thereby reducing the convenience in browsing the test results for a comparison. This is not limited to test slips; a similar problem occurs in the case of other notes or the like attached to medical records.